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Nymphs
Nymphs The rather benign name of nymph belies the reality of their nature. Both mischevious and vengeful, these creatures of the untouched world seem to cause mortals nothing but suffering. Auloniad The auloniad are the nymphs of meadows. They regularly consort with goatkin, where they might be seen as slender, pale youths and maidens. Otherwise, they are not seen at all. Instead, they invisibly lead wild animals in to fields at night to destroy crops, or spread diseases among the plants. Every weed and every drought is the work of the auloniad, constantly seeking to take the fields back. When frolicking with the goatkin, the auloniad will drink heavily and may become amorous toward mortals. They may also decide to eat them. For some strange reason, the goatkin are not put off by this and continue to provide them with alcohol. Aurae The aurae are the nymphs of breezes, often seen as shimmering lights or tiny winged people. They are fond of stealing things or visiting illnesses upon people. Changelings are the children of aurae, who have been placed with mortal families after the mortal children have been stolen. They are malicious and feign stupidity while masking an evil intellect. Typically, they run away or else die at a young age, passing a plague on to the surviving mortal family and their neighbors. Hamadryads The hamadryads are the nymphs of trees. Each one is soul-bonded to a specific tree and if that tree should die, so would the hamadryad. The fastest way to earn the wrath of a hamadryad is to be found with fire or an ax. As these are both common tools for survival in the woods, this often means that to stumble onto a hamadryad inhabited forest means death. They will have the trees move themselves, blocking off paths and confusing people, before guiding vines and thorns to grow so as to trap the mortals. Naiads The naiads are the nymphs of springs. They usually don't seek to kill or starve mortals like their brethren, however. Their motives are purely for entertainment. Springs rise up out of the ground under the guidance of naiads. At times, these are simply water and of great use to travelers. However, when the naiads are feeling particularly playful, the water of the springs has certain effects on any mortals--human, Strainseiri, or beast--who drinks from them. There are three possible spells that might fall upon one who drinks from such an enchanted spring. Love will inspire the mortal to deeply love the very next being he or she lays eyes upon, regardless of age, gender or species. This is usually relatively benign and leads to embarrassing talk about how wonderful the object of this love is. If any physical attraction is present, however, the love will take a decidedly passionate turn. The hate enchantments are much like love, but lead to savage violence instead. Entire armies have wiped one another out after a few key figures drank from the wrong spring. The final enchantment is forgetfulness. This may cause the mortal to forget his identity, her companions, their mission, or any combination. How long the enchantments last can vary anywhere between an hour or decades. Lampads The lampads are the nymphs of the underworld. Often mistaken for ghosts, they are seen either as silvery, transluscent figures or flames floating through the air. The sight of lampads is an omen of death and misfortune. They may be seen months, weeks, or hours before the misfortune itself arrives. Those who are dying often report seeing lampads arriving to escort them to the afterlife, though none but the dying will see them. Category:Creatures Category:Adunato Category:North Category:Aitbheth Category:Eretath Category:Jallen Category:Mekti Category:Seat of Heaven